--- title: "Melodic Death Metal" type: "MusicGenre" url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-death" parent: "Death Metal" bands: 713 era: "early 1990s" --- # Melodic Death Metal **Melodic Death Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the early 1990s. TheMetalNet maps 713 bands and 1,748 albums under it. Melodic death metal marries death metal’s harsh vocals and aggression to the harmonized, minor-key guitar leads of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The Gothenburg sound defined it in early-1990s Sweden, where At the Gates, In Flames, and Dark Tranquillity built melancholic, riff-driven songs with more melody and structure than traditional death metal. Vocals are typically mid-range rasps or screams, sometimes with clean singing, and themes lean philosophical and introspective. Its guitar style went on to shape metalcore worldwide. ## Facts | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Genre | Melodic Death Metal | | Level | Sub-genre | | Parent genre | Death Metal | | Formative era | early 1990s | | Bands | 713 | | Albums | 1,748 | | Formation span | 1974 to 2025 | ## Notable bands (top 60 by prominence) - [In Flames](https://themetalnet.com/band/in-flames) (Sweden, 1990) - [Amon Amarth](https://themetalnet.com/band/amon-amarth) (Sweden, 1992) - [Dark Tranquillity](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-tranquillity) (Sweden, 1989) - [Soilwork](https://themetalnet.com/band/soilwork) (Sweden, 1995) - [Children of Bodom](https://themetalnet.com/band/children-of-bodom) (Finland, 1997) - [Heaven Shall Burn](https://themetalnet.com/band/heaven-shall-burn) (Germany, 1996) - [Shadows Fall](https://themetalnet.com/band/shadows-fall) (United States, 1995) - [At the Gates](https://themetalnet.com/band/at-the-gates) (Sweden, 1990) - [Insomnium](https://themetalnet.com/band/insomnium) (Finland, 1997) - [Omnium Gatherum](https://themetalnet.com/band/omnium-gatherum) (Finland, 1996) - [Before the Dawn](https://themetalnet.com/band/before-the-dawn) (Finland, 1999) - [Blood Stain Child](https://themetalnet.com/band/blood-stain-child) (Japan, 2000) - [Kalmah](https://themetalnet.com/band/kalmah) (Finland, 1998) - [SuidAkrA](https://themetalnet.com/band/suidakra) (Germany, 1994) - [Eternal Tears of Sorrow](https://themetalnet.com/band/eternal-tears-of-sorrow) (Finland, 1994) - [Mercenary](https://themetalnet.com/band/mercenary) (Denmark, 1991) - [Mors Principium Est](https://themetalnet.com/band/mors-principium-est) (Finland, 1999) - [Sonic Syndicate](https://themetalnet.com/band/sonic-syndicate) (Sweden, 2005) - [Wintersun](https://themetalnet.com/band/wintersun) (Finland, 2003) - [Diablo](https://themetalnet.com/band/diablo) (Finland, 1999) - [Raunchy](https://themetalnet.com/band/raunchy) (Denmark, 1994) - [Nightfall](https://themetalnet.com/band/nightfall) (Greece, 1991) - [Norther](https://themetalnet.com/band/norther) (Finland, 1996) - [Scar Symmetry](https://themetalnet.com/band/scar-symmetry) (Sweden, 2004) - [Avatar](https://themetalnet.com/band/avatar-a8d77515) (Sweden, 2001) - [Dark Age](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-age) (Germany, 1995) - [Neaera](https://themetalnet.com/band/neaera) (Germany, 2003) - [Noumena](https://themetalnet.com/band/noumena) (Finland, 1998) - [Carnal Forge](https://themetalnet.com/band/carnal-forge) (Sweden, 1997) - [Dimension Zero](https://themetalnet.com/band/dimension-zero) (Sweden, 1995) - [Into Eternity](https://themetalnet.com/band/into-eternity) (Canada, 1997) - [Mystic Circle](https://themetalnet.com/band/mystic-circle) (Germany, 1992) - [Night in Gales](https://themetalnet.com/band/night-in-gales) (Germany, 1995) - [Skyfire](https://themetalnet.com/band/skyfire) (Sweden, 1995) - [Still Remains](https://themetalnet.com/band/still-remains) (United States, 2002) - [In Mourning](https://themetalnet.com/band/in-mourning) (Sweden, 2000) - [Warmen](https://themetalnet.com/band/warmen) (Finland, 2000) - [The Agonist](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-agonist) (Canada, 2004) - [Threat Signal](https://themetalnet.com/band/threat-signal) (Canada, 2003) - [Destinity](https://themetalnet.com/band/destinity) (France, 1996) - [Immortal Souls](https://themetalnet.com/band/immortal-souls) (Finland, 1991) - [myGRAIN](https://themetalnet.com/band/mygrain) (Finland, 2004) - [The Unguided](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-unguided) (Sweden, 2010) - [Light This City](https://themetalnet.com/band/light-this-city) (United States, 2002) - [Be’lakor](https://themetalnet.com/band/be-lakor) (Australia, 2004) - [Dominia](https://themetalnet.com/band/dominia) (Russia, 1999) - [Grailknights](https://themetalnet.com/band/grailknights) (Germany, 2003) - [Unanimated](https://themetalnet.com/band/unanimated) (Sweden, 1986) - [Ablaze My Sorrow](https://themetalnet.com/band/ablaze-my-sorrow) (Sweden, 1993) - [Dark the Suns](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-the-suns) (2005) - [Engel](https://themetalnet.com/band/engel) (Sweden, 2004) - [Gardenian](https://themetalnet.com/band/gardenian) (Sweden, 1996) - [In Vain](https://themetalnet.com/band/in-vain-03d6fc5b) (Norway, 2003) - [This Ending](https://themetalnet.com/band/this-ending) (Sweden, 2005) - [Zonaria](https://themetalnet.com/band/zonaria) (Sweden, 2001) - [Lost Dreams](https://themetalnet.com/band/lost-dreams) (Austria, 1992) - [Fragments of Unbecoming](https://themetalnet.com/band/fragments-of-unbecoming) (Germany, 2000) - [Illidiance](https://themetalnet.com/band/illidiance) (Russia, 2005) - [Ex Deo](https://themetalnet.com/band/ex-deo) (Canada, 2008) - [Exmortus](https://themetalnet.com/band/exmortus) (2003) ## Where it is played - [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 81 bands - [Germany](https://themetalnet.com/country/de): 69 bands - [Sweden](https://themetalnet.com/country/se): 61 bands - [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 51 bands - [Russia](https://themetalnet.com/country/ru): 26 bands - [Canada](https://themetalnet.com/country/ca): 18 bands - [Japan](https://themetalnet.com/country/jp): 16 bands - [Australia](https://themetalnet.com/country/au): 15 bands ## Bands formed by decade | Decade | Bands formed | | --- | --- | | 1970s | 4 | | 1980s | 6 | | 1990s | 133 | | 2000s | 265 | | 2010s | 182 | | 2020s | 49 | --- Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-death](https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-death). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt